Readers select the Ultimate Products

Once again, qualified readers of EE Times and eeProduct Center have selected the best of the best--the top products in each of seven categories in our quarterly Ultimate Products survey. The categories are Analog; RF and Microwave; Logic/Programmable Logic and Interface; Test and Measurement; Processors and Memory; Power; and Interconnection, Packaging and Electromechanical. The results highlighted here are for products introduced during the second quarter. Read on to see which products you and your peers picked.

In the Analog ICs category, Supertex's HV758 high-speed, four-channel ultrasound pulser IC took top honors. As one voter put it: "I gave it a 5 for significance because I've done some ultrasound designs before, and it looks like a part I would have used if it had been available." Hindsight provides 20/20 kudos for Supertex.

For RF and Microwave, Xceive Corp. took the prize with its XC4000 series of integrated hybrid silicon tuners for terrestrial television and PC TVs. "Remarkable," as one voter put it. For Logic and Programmable Logic, Xilinx won out with its Virtex-4 FPGA-based deserializer for TI's ADS6000 A/D converter line, while Freescale wins in the Memory and Processors category with its Multicore Communications Platform, based on its PowerQuicc family. However, as one voter puts it, "Multicore products are only as good as the firmware that can leverage the multiple cores." That may yet have to be determined.

In the realm of IP&E, Omron took top billing with its EE-SX1 series of non- amplified, slotted phototransistors in a fixed "U shaped" housing that integrates both the emitter and detector. Developed for motion and position detection, the EE-SX1 series of transmissive photomicrosensors detects the presence of an object without direct contact. For Power, TI's UCD9080, F28044 and UCD91xx power controllers were the clear winners. Finally, in Test and Measurement, Agilent Technologies' N6705A dc power analyzer won for being just plain useful.

• "I gave it a 5 for significance because I've done some ultrasound designs before, and it looks like a part I would have used if it had been available."

Article ID: 199902652

USABILITY RANK: 1

2 Vishay

White-LED drivers deliver 90 percent efficiency

Gina Roos wrote: "Vishay has two 1.25-MHz current-mode boost converters optimized for white-LED applications. The SiP12510 and SiP12511 white-LED drivers offer a 90 percent typical efficiency, said to be the highest rating for this type of device."

Readers said:

•"Maybe the price is in euros."

• "It could be good when using an LCD backlight for daylight applications."

Article ID: 199800141

USABILITY RANK: 2

3 Micrel

Tiny LED driver boasts high power

Gina Roos wrote: "Micrel says it has developed the industry's tiniest and most powerful LED driver for portable applications, enabling designers to enhance their integrated cameras with a high-brightness LED flash that consumes minimal board space and battery life."

Readers said:

•"Nice, small parts count."

Article ID: 199500334

USABILITY RANK: 3

4 Texas Instruments

TI launches 216-kHz stereo A/D converters with 124-dB dynamic range

Ismini Scouras wrote: "Texas Instruments' pair of 24-bit, 216-kHz A/D converters completes its audio signal chain for professional digital audio recording and processing applications. The PCM4220 and PCM4222 dual-channel devices combine high integration with dynamic range of up to 124-dB signal-to-noise ratio while reducing power consumption by 50 percent compared with competing products."

Article ID: 198701919

USABILITY RANK: 4

5 Maxim

White-LED charge pump integrates audio amplifier

Gina Roos wrote: "Maxim Integrated Products says it has the industry's only negative charge pump with an integrated fully differential, bridged audio amplifier. The single-chip MAX8678 white LED driver, available in a 3 x 3 x 0.8-mm TQFN package, is said to be 50 percent smaller than the standard two-chip solution."

Gina Roos wrote: "Omron Electronic Components has developed a series of nonamplified, slotted phototransistors in a fixed 'U shaped' housing that integrates both the emitter and the detector. Developed for motion and position detection, the EE-SX1 series transmissive photomicrosensors detect the presence of an object without direct contact."

Readers said:

• "Potential use in gas sampling extractive samplers."

• "A good implementation of an existing idea."

• "It would be nice to have a logical output rather than a phototransistor output."

•"It should be more sensitive."

Article ID: 199201640

USABILITY RANK: 1

2 Corning Cable Systems

Connector speeds installation of fiber-optic cables

Gina Roos wrote: "Corning Cable Systems' OptiSnap connector is a field-installable no-epoxy, no-polish connector that enables quick termination of fiber-optic cables. The OptiSnap connector installs in less than one minute by using the company's high-precision mechanical splice technology. It is suitable for single-mode fiber-to-the-x applications, maintenance and restoration of building cable, and MDU applications where installation-setup and -teardown time is critical."

Readers said:

• "This is useful as it makes doing fiber easier. Could be key in fiber to the home."

Article ID: 199904459

USABILITY RANK: 6

3 Molex

Micro-USB connectors cut space by more than 50 percent vs. Mini-USB

Ismini Scouras wrote: "Targeting portable devices such as PDAs, digital cameras and mobile phones, Molex has introduced Micro-USB connectors that offer a more compact footprint and a volumetric space reduction of more than 50 percent compared with Mini-USB devices. Molex's latest connectors are compliant with the Micro-USB 1.0 specifications and support the current USB On-The-Go (OTG) supplement, giving users the convenience of mobile point-to-point connectivity."

Readers said:

• "Not that exciting, but could be useful."

Article ID: 199701289

USABILITY RANK: 2

4 Illinois Capacitor

Supercapacitors supply up to 220 farads

Gina Roos wrote: "The DLR series of supercapacitors from Illinois Capacitor offers capacitance values up to 220 farads and higher in custom packs. The packs combine multiple capacitors for combinations of higher voltage ratings or capacitance values. The DLR series includes 14 values ranging in capacitance from 4 F to 220 F with voltage ratings from 2 WVdc to 2.5 WVdc."

Readers said:

• "These sound like the devices from Gould Ionics I worked on over 30 years ago, but much cheaper."

• "Not bad for something AAA to C sized (roughly). The voltage is low . . . Better for backup than a battery."

Article ID: 199000301

USABILITY RANK: 4

5 Endicott Interconnect Technologies

Interconnects eliminate plated through-holes

Gina Roos wrote: "Endicott Interconnect Technologies says having to drill plated through-holes to make signal connections with printed-circuit-boards may become a thing of the past, thanks to its HPC-Z interconnections. The products provide signal connections only where required, with functional isolation for single- or double-sides surface-mount partitions."

Readers said:

• "Sounds good, but more information required; at least some photos would help."

Article ID: 199701401

USABILITY RANK: 8

6 Knowles Acoustics

MEMS sensor detects/receives ultrasonic sound in air

Article ID: 199501164

USABILITY RANK: 10

7 Tecate Industries

Ultracapacitors target handheld devices

Article ID: 199702735

USABILITY RANK: 9

8 Melexis

Hall-effect switch delivers low power consumption for mobile devices

Article ID: 199903962

USABILITY RANK: 7

9 Omnivision Technologies

Camera phone sensor incorporates image stabilization, MIPI

Article ID: 199904887

USABILITY RANK: 5

10 Cypress Semiconductor

Cypress develops two capacitive sensing methods for PSoC

Article ID: 198701972

USABILITY RANK: 3

n Power

1 Texas Instruments

ARM-powered silicon eases point-of-load power source design

Alex Mendelsohn wrote: "These highly integrated devices from Texas Instruments once again expand the company's portfolio of power controllers, encompassing TI's UCD9080s (in production), the F28044s (also in production) and the UCD91xx family (sampling and supported with evaluation boards)."

Readers said:

• "I'm not shopping for these right now, and my knowledge is out of date, but they seem like a very nice package. I will keep them in mind."

• "Appear to be extremely powerful, yet efficient. Totally would serve the purpose of corporations of today."

• "They should be complemented with MCPs (gate driver + MOSFETs)."

• "Absolutely nice to have, if you have many voltages and want the most efficiency."

Article ID: 199204250

USABILITY RANK: 1

2 Maxim

Dc/dc converter with integrated switch saves space

Gina Roos wrote: "Maxim Integrated Products MAX15020 high-voltage dc/dc converter with an integrated high-side switch is capable of delivering up to 2 amps of output current, while operating with switching frequencies up to 500 kHz."

Article ID: 199904879

USABILITY RANK: 2

3 Summit Microelectronics

Programmable battery charger reduces charge time, heat and size

Gina Roos wrote: "Summit Microelectronics has expanded its family of programmable battery charger integrated circuits with the introduction of the SMB138, targeted at portable consumer electronics applications. Specially designed to optimize battery charging from any power source including Universal Serial Bus and other current-limited sources, the SMB138 is said to deliver significant value at the system level by reducing charge time and power dissipation."

Readers said:

• "This looks like a good product if it can stand up to its sales pitch."

Article ID: 199702342

USABILITY RANK: 5

4 ON Semiconductor

Energy Star power supply reference design uses standard parts

Alex Mendelsohn wrote: "Today's PC power supplies go way beyond simple transformer/rectifier/filter designs. Safety, efficiency and stability rule, making the design of power sources arcane and complex. Enter Energy Star, a U.S. government program (run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy) whose goal is to promote energy-efficient consumer products. The Energy Star logo now appears on many computer products and peripherals, and these days most consumer OEMs covet the logo."

Article ID: 199203176

USABILITY RANK: 8

5 STMicroelectronics

Power amplifier creates 3-D audio effects for mobile phones

Gina Roos wrote: "STMicroelec- tronics has developed a compact audio power amplifier chip that creates 3-D audio effects in stereo speaker outputs to add impact and surround-sound feel to MP3 and video files for high- end mobile phones and other portable audio products."

Readers said:

• "This can be a useful solution for powered headphones for consumer and pro-audio."

• "This could be in my next phone, and I would never even know."

Article ID: 199900979

USABILITY RANK: 3

6 Linear Technology

Surface-mount point-of-load dc/dc converter can be handled like an IC

Article ID: 199903413

USABILITY RANK: 4

7 Texas Instruments

Buck-boost dc/dc/ converter simplifies automotive power design

Article ID: 199000641

USABILITY RANK: 6

8 Linear Technology

Power-over-Ethernet controller extends the IEEE spec

Article ID: 198900395

USABILITY RANK: 10

9 Linear Technology

Power management chip throttles USB source

Article ID: 199600256

USABILITY RANK: 9

10 Fairchild Semiconductor

Buck regulators integrate analog IC, MOSFETs and diode

Article ID: 199601681

USABILITY RANK: 7

n Logic/Programmable Logic and Interface

1 Xilinx

Xilinx develops FPGA-based deserializer for TI's ADS6000 ADC line

Gina Roos wrote: "Xilinx has announced the availability of a Virtex-4 FPGA-based deserializer reference design, application note and evaluation module. Developed jointly with Texas Instruments, the reference design, together with the application note, deserializes data streams from TI's ADS6000 analog-to-digital converter family."

• "Reference frequencies out of date for projects like [software-defined radio] and video communications."

Article ID: 199100738

USABILITY RANK: 1

2 Altera

Altera ships highest-density Cyclone III FPGA

Clive Maxfield wrote: "Altera has announced the shipment of the EP3C120, the largest member of its new low-cost 65-nm Cyclone III FPGA family. Consuming only a fraction of the power needed by other FPGAs of comparable capacity, the EP3C120 is ideal for a broad range of applications requiring both high integration and low power, such as wireless communications infrastructure, software-defined radio, and video processing and imaging."

Readers said:

• "Important for battery powered devices!"

•"Cryptic and poorly organized."

• "Development environment is expensive compared to other solutions."

Article ID: 200000518

USABILITY RANK: 2

3 Xilinx

CoolRunner-II starter kit cuts development time for handhelds

Ismini Scouras wrote:"Xilinx announced immediate availability of its low-cost CoolRunner-II CPLD starter kit, which is designed for prototyping high-volume, ultralow-power applications such as handheld devices, smart phones, motor control interfaces, and embedded complex-PLD applications. The kit enables users to quickly develop and test applications while reducing design time and risk by leveraging its modular board architecture approach with multiple boards designed to work together."

Readers said:

• "It's good for some interfaces, I2C ROM."

Article ID: 199902532

USABILITY RANK: 3

4 Xilinx

Xilinx now shipping Spartan-3A DSP FPGAs

Gina Roos wrote: "Xilinx has announced the availability of production qualified Spartan-3A DSP-focused FPGAs. Shipping in production a month ahead of schedule, the Spartan-3A DSP platform offers 20 GMACs for under $30 for a wide range of low-cost, data-intensive applications including wireless, video surveillance, personal medical and consumer applications. The Spartan-3A DSP platform is part of the Xilinx XtremeDSP solutions that provide developers with a complete portfolio of programmable logic devices, IP, development tools and third party DSP ecosystem."

Clive Maxfield wrote: "Addressing the growing challenge presented by the widening gap between ever-increasing digitization rates and the fixed-bandwidth infrastructure, Samplify announced the availability of the Samplify compression engine for FPGAs and the Samplify for Windows signal analysis tool."

Readers said:

• "I have to evaluate this first before I will understand where to apply it."

Ismini Scouras wrote: "Freescale Semiconductor has unveiled its Multi-core Communications Platform, based on its PowerQuicc processor families. The architecture is designed to help customers migrate to multicore environments while preserving the value of legacy software investments."

Readers said:

•"Excellent."

• "Primarily interested in power performance vs. other system designs."

Ismini Scouras wrote: "Based on the Power Architecture standard, the Power PC 460EX embedded processor from Applied Micro Circuits Corp. (AMCC) is designed for a wide range of high-performance applications, including multifunction printing, networking, home-gateway and general embedded-processor requirements."

Readers said:

• "Fast and able to withstand temp."

• "Like the SATA [serial ATA] capability."

Article ID: 198800572

USABILITY RANK: 7

5 Renesas Technology America

Multicore microcontrollers target embedded applications

Gina Roos wrote: "Renesas Technology America has five SuperH 32-bit microcontrollers that use multicore technology to achieve the high levels of performance required by many embedded-system applications, such as consumer products, industrial equipment, and car audio and navigation systems."

Readers said:

•"Power consumption?"

•"Reliable."

Article ID: 199200933

USABILITY RANK: 4

6 Luminary Micro

Stellaris MCUs integrate Ethernet, CAN-bus capabilities

Article ID: 199901689

USABILITY RANK: 3

7 Microchip

LCD controllers double the flash and RAM memory

Article ID: 199300117

USABILITY RANK: 6

8 Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments unveils 1st floating-point DSCs

Article ID: 199900756

USABILITY RANK: 8

9 Stream Processors

DSP delivers 112 GMACs of compute performance

Article ID: 199703950

USABILITY RANK: 9

10 Concurrent Technologies

Storage module supports 2.5-in. SATA HDDs, two CompactFlash drives

Article ID: 199201697

USABILITY RANK: 10

n RF and Microwave

1 Xceive

TV receiver combines tuning, analog demodulation in small package

Ismini Scouras wrote: "Xceive Corp. is sampling the XC4000 series of integrated hybrid silicon tuners for the terrestrial television and PC TV market. The XC4000 is a single-chip hybrid analog and digital TV tuner combining both tuning and analog demodulation functions in an ultrasmall, 7 x -mm, 48-pin QFN package."

Readers said:

•"What is the price?"

• "Xceive has good product reputation."

• "This device with its small circuit footprint is a natural for use in future cell phone technology especially when paired with Orp 802.11 implementation."

•"Remarkable."

Article ID: 199903912

USABILITY RANK: 1

2 Zarlink

Body area network gets under your skin

Alex Mendelsohn wrote: "Some implantable medical devices, such as pacemakers, neurostimulators, drug pumps and monitors, rely on wireless links to provide two-way communications between the device and doctors. These devices arguably improve patient care and sometimes lower health care costs, but their designers often have to sacrifice performance because of limited battery life."

• "As part of new world of wireless media systems for home (and others, such as PA systems), this is an interesting piece."

• "Looks very interesting for a number of applications."

• "Very good performance; seems tough competition."

Article ID: 199001374

USABILITY RANK: 4

5 Avago Technologies

Antenna-routing hybrid endows cellular-plus-PCS handsets with GPS

Alex Mendelsohn wrote: "Avago Technologies' so-called quintplexer module is based on LC matching networks to impedance-match the company's film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR) duplexers with an FBAR-based GPS filter. The resulting magic is that your design's single antenna can now feed, and be fed from, five ports."

Alex Mendelsohn wrote: "Let's say you're powering up an expensive prototype for the first time, or trying to determine how your design will behave at lower-than-normal input voltages. Agilent Technologies' latest analyzers are appealing test-and-measurement products that may very well keep the 'smoke' inside the packages."

Readers said:

• "I can see how this would be very useful for power supply and digital engineers."

• "Did a lot of overvoltage, over- current settings for power supplies when an engineer at NSC. Useful for measuring direct P/S values."

• "Will it do feedback loop stability analysis?"

Article ID: 199202485

USABILITY RANK: 1

2 Tektronix

Cost-effective scopes time-correlate analog, digital signals

Alex Mendelsohn wrote: "This mixed-signal oscilloscope line from Tektronix is in phase with the meteoric rise in the use of field- programmable gate arrays. Indeed, FPGA suppliers Altera and Xilinx are experiencing double-digit growth, largely accruable to the explosion in embedded computing systems."

Article ID: 198701766

USABILITY RANK: 2

3 LeCroy

Low-cost oscilloscopes keep digital memory turned on

Alex Mendelsohn wrote: "These latest oscilloscopes from LeCroy once again expand the company's existing WaveRunner Xi series and WaveSurfer Xs series scopes. They also compete with new scopes recently introduced by Agilent Technologies and others. The company is aiming the mixed-signal scopes at designers working with embedded systems, where signals in analog and digital domains are found, often along with serial data streams. One of the scopes lets you do this simultaneously--on one instrument--in real-time."

Article ID: 199201029

USABILITY RANK: 4

4 Anritsu

Economy RF spectrum analyzer troika sweeps the field

Alex Mendelsohn wrote: "Anritsu Co. claims no other spectrum analyzers in the MS271xB's price class offer the price/performance of its new analyzers, but Anritsu doesn't mention the all-important price specifications. The three members of this family are priced at less than $13,000 for the 7.1-GHz version, less than $17,000 for the 13-GHz version and less than about $20,000 for the top-end, 20-GHz instrument."

Readers said:

•"A good value for the money."

•"Want better amplitude accuracy."

Article ID: 199000502

USABILITY RANK: 5

5 Agilent Technologies

Portable deep-memory scopes aim for price-sensitive sweet spot

Alex Mendelsohn wrote: "When I met with Agilent Technologies product manager Phil Stearns, one of the first things he said was, 'Let's see what you've been missing.' Stearns was referring to the compact 5000 series scopes' ability to make 25 times the number of acquisitions/second achieved by Agilent competitor Tektronix. Stearns mentioned the popular Tektronix TDS3000B series of portable oscilloscopes, which he admitted are de facto industry standards."

Readers said:

• "If I had disposable budget, I would already have purchased one."

• "This is useful to our business. But we may take another six months to review the actual requirement."